Privatising parks

on New Year's Day 2006, King Gyanendra of Nepal quietly issued an ordinance that many environmentalists fear could prove a major setback to this Himalayan kingdom's efforts over the last decade to restore people's rights over their natural resources.

Groovy benefits

a new research study shows that the function of mangroves is not limited to protecting the coastline and maintaining biodiversity. An international study has found that though mangroves cover less than 0.1 per cent of the global land area, they provide more than 10 per cent of essential dissolved organic carbon (doc) that is supplied to the oceans from land.

40 New species

A team comprising scientists from the us, Indonesia and Australia has recently uncovered a 'lost world' in an isolated Indonesian jungle. Its month-long expedition to the mist-covered Foja Mountains of Papua -- Indonesia's easternmost and least-explored province, west of the great tropical island of New Guinea -- yielded 40 new species including frogs, butterflies, plants, and an orange-faced honeyeater -- the first bird discovered from the island of New Guinea since 1939.

Worldly wise

When it comes to saving biodiversity, India leaves no stones unturned to present a positive image at international forums like the Convention on Biological Diversity (cbd). India protects its biodiverse areas and maintains sanctuaries and national parks. It makes extensive 10-year management plans for each protected area and implements them in each of the 595 protected areas. It has a huge staff, a body of trained officials along with specialised courses for wildlife protection.

Still vexed

Granada was in focus this fortnight. The working groups on article 8(j) and on access and benefit-sharing of the convention on biological diversity gathered at this Spanish port town, between January 23 and February 3, 2006.

Value-added birdwatching

Birds: Beyond Watching by Abdul Jamil Urfi published by Universities Press Hyderabad

Benefit barred, access denied

In the first fortnight of March, the Convention of Biological Diversity (cbd) shall be put to test. The eighth Conference of Parties (cop-8) will be held in Brazil from March 20-31 bringing together 188 countries, just a few months after the World Trade Organisation (wto) ministerial in Hong Kong.

CBD versus WTO

A turf war is being waged: the World Trade Organization (wto) and the Convention on Biodiversity (cbd) are wrangling over the control of the biodiversity industry. The issues of conservation, access and benefit sharing from trade in biodiversity had the members divided at the 11th meeting of cbd's Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice held in Montreal, Canada.

In Short

INDIANS ELECTED: Two Indian scientists, Goverdhan Mehta and Anupam Varma, have been elected to the International Council for Science (ICSU) regional committee for Asia and the Pacific. Mehta, former director of the Indian Institute of Science and vice chancellor of the University of Hyderabad, has been elected president of the ICSU committee. Anupam Varma, former professor at the Advanced Centre for Plant Virology at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, was elected chairperson.

Kudremukh closure

the Supreme Court (sc) once again directed Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (kiocl) to shut down all mining activities by December 31, 2005. This is a major triumph for environmentalists who have been working for years to protect the fragile hill ecology of Kudremukh in the Western Ghats in Karnataka. The apex court took this tough stand against the iron ore major on September 30, 2005, while reacting to a request of the company for a delayed closure. The court now insists on a closure before any further hearing.